The radio TV film department at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh added to its collection of awards and honors in a big way in recent months. Five different national and regional organizations handed out or announced awards in late winter and spring for student work on radio, television, broadcast journalism, film and script-writing projects.
The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association (WBA) held its student seminar in Middleton in early March. UW Oshkosh students won 10 production awards:
- In the category for TV promotions, public service announcements and commercials, Joey French, a senior from Malone, won first place for UW Oshkosh Apply. Shiloh Debauch, a junior from Gillett, won second place for the Breaking Sound promo.
- In the TV public affairs category, two episodes of the UWO in 30 program were honored. An episode called Talking Pictures by Matt Niesen, a senior from Oshkosh, and Alex Johnson, a senior from Aurora, Illinois, won first place. An episode called Oh, the Places You’ve Gone by Kaitlyn Smith, a senior from Friendship, and Kennedy Corpus, a senior from Green Bay, won third place. Both episodes were produced live in the RTF studio production course. Smith also earned the Howard Gernetzke Scholarship from the WBA Foundation.
- In the radio aircheck category for announcing, Andrew Haese, a junior from Jackson, won first place for his work on the WRST-FM program The Shuffle. Haese, the WRST station manager, also received the WBA’s Student Leadership Award.
- In the TV category for news series/documentary, Ryan Taylor, a 2019 graduate from Merrill, and Cole Lehnherr, a 2019 graduate from Belmont, earned second place for the documentary Conquering My Trials.
- Julia Beck, a senior from Shawano, and Aleksandra Miladinovic, a senior from Milwaukee, took second place in the TV general entertainment program category for Wired Up.
- Jeff Rademaker, a junior from Appleton, scored a second-place award in the radio newscast category for one of his WRST-FM newscasts.
- In the radio news series/documentary category, an eight-part program on the stresses facing today’s college students won third place. It was produced by Landen Moore, a 2019 graduate from Richland Center; Stewart Atkinson, a 2019 graduate from Portage; Andrew Mertins, a senior from Racine, Samuel Burke, a 2019 graduate from Verona; Henry Jankowski, a 2019 graduate from Neenah; Rachel Ryan, a 2019 graduate from Oconomowoc; Matilda Cretens, a 2019 graduate from Cudahy; and Adam Van Handel, a senior from Appleton.
- Isaac Marquardt, a senior from Wausau, won third place in the radio long form/non-news category for his audio essay I Am Not An Inspiration.
Also in March, the National Broadcasting Society held its annual national convention in Burbank, California. Three UWO productions won awards:
- Kennedy Corpus won the grand prize for comedy program script for her It’s a Sister Thing pilot.
- The Titan TV series Hello, Campers! earned honorable mention in the video comedy program category. It was produced by Oscar Benitez, a 2019 graduate from Jefferson; Lexie Williams, a junior from Mt. Horeb; Abigail Adams, a senior from Menasha; and Brandon Fuller, a 2019 graduate from Franklin.
- WRST-FM student news director Joe Schulz, a senior from Oshkosh, earned honorable mention in the audio news segment category for his radio report UWO Red Zone Initiative.
In April, the six-state Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association handed out their Eric Sevareid Awards:
- Joe Schulz took first place honors in both the radio investigative category and the radio documentary/special category for UWO Red Zone Initiative.
- Isaac Marquardt won first place in radio broadcast writing for I Am Not An Inspiration. An award of merit in the same category went to Rachel Ryan for a piece about baristas and their pet peeves. The same piece won a merit award for radio soft feature.
- WRST-FM won first place for radio series for its eight-part program on the stresses facing today’s college students.
- Jeff Rademaker, a junior from Appleton, won an award of merit for a WRST-FM newscast.
More recently the Milwaukee Press Club issued its awards. Two WRST-FM productions were finalists:
- UWO Red Zone Initiative by Joe Shulz was honored for best radio news story/single or ongoing.
- Script to Screen, a weekly movie discussion program, was a finalist for best podcast. It is produced by Max Fredrick, a junior from Appleton, and Gideon Patrick, a junior from Oshkosh.
The nine-state Best of the Midwest Media Fest also recently announced its winners, who are to be recognized later in the year. Two Titan TV productions earned honors:
- Brandon Fuller and his production of the UWO football team’s upset of UW-Whitewater for a share of the WIAC title earned an Award of Excellence-First Place in the sports/amateur category.
- Damon Hoffman, a senior from Appleton, earned an Award of Achievement-Second Place in the live production/amateur category for his production of a live panel discussion with UWO radio TV film alumni.
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